I dag har jeg sett en utrolig sterk landart. Den het “Third Paradise” (Terzo Paradiso), og er laget av Michelangelo Pistoletto. Se også info på hjemmesiden hans. Her har jeg klart å fange deler av kunstverket:
Dessverre kom jeg ikke høyt nok til å få med alle tre sirklene, men metallstangen i midten er godt synlig. Så kommer teksten fra skiltet – og det var da jeg ble veldig grepet:
“The symbol of this art refers to the mathematical sign for infinity, composed of two circles, between which I have added a third circle, representing the Third Paradise. This third circle is the union of the two existing circles, one of which symbolices the first paradise, in which mankind was totally integrated with nature, whereas the other stands for the second (artificial) paradise, driven forward by human intelligence along a path that over the past century has triggered a process of decay and consumption affecting the entire planet. The tragic consequences of a – scientifically verified – collision between the natural and the artificial worlds can be avoided through the marriage of nature and artifice and through the reconstruction of the principles of cohabitation. It was from the integration of all these elements that the Third Paradise came about. In the work created for the clearing of the San Francesco Woodland, artifice is represented by the reflective steel antenna planted in the centre of the main circle, which – like an umbilical cord – unites heaven and earth, whereas all around it, nature produces the symbol of the future world, a great womb that will give birth to the new humanity.”
Michelangelo Pistoletto… the Terzo Paradiso represents the culmination of your visit to the San Francesco Woodland, providing the impetus for a final reflection on what should constitute the correct relationship between mankind and nature. In order for the work of art to be “activated”, we would invite you to “enter” into it, to undertake a “ritual” walk along the path bordered by the olive trees, and to take a quiet moment in order to become more fully aware of the need for each one of us to make our contribution to the creation of a “new world”.
I brosjyren jeg fikk utdelt, står følgende:
The moment of self-awareness: the birth of a “new world”
Leaving behind the Santa Croce Complex and following the Tescio stream, you come to a large clearing overlooked by the Rocca Maggiore of Assisi. This third part of the walk is, in fact, the culmination of our visit: it is the moment for self-awareness, a unique opportunity to reflect on the correct relationship between Man and Creation.
As emerges from the first two models we have seen so far, after having lived together in total integration with nature, over time mankind began to modify the surrounding countryside to meet its own needs. But over the past two centuries, due to the development of technology, this process has been intensifying and expanding on an ever-increasing basis, to such an extent that it now represents a real threat to the very survival of our planet. Faced with a catastrophe that now seems imminent, it is essential for us today to stop and think for a moment about the responsiility that each of us has to prevent this tragedy and to contribute to creating a better future for humanity as a whole.
In the Clearing, this reflection turns into a sort of ritual walk, thanks to the Terzo Paradiso, the extraordinary work of Land Art created specifically for the San Franscesco Woodland by the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto. This outlined shape is composed of 121 olive trees, and you are invited to walk right round it: indeed, it is only by becoming a creative part of the work that the work is properly activated. The large central circle – flanked by two smaller circles representing the natural world and the artificial world – symbolises the womb that will give birth to the new humanity; it is, then, the symbol of the future world that will be created out of the virtuous integration of the first two worlds. As Michelangelo Pistoletto himself puts it: “In ancient Persian, the word ´paradise´means protected garden, protected by a wall that separates it from the surrounding desert. The Earth is our Paradise, it is the garden of humanity”. Now the time has come to protect it once again, “changing first of all our lifestyle in practical terms, but also moral, ideal, aesthetic and spiritual terms”.“Humanity was looking for a sign, a symbol that could represent the passage to a peaceful future. Until now, peace has been conceived only as a consequence of war, since it ha always come after war. Now, at last, people are coming together, as per the sign of the Terzo Pardiso, to give rise to a preemptive peace.”
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Et slikt kunstverk passer jo perfekt inn i skogen til Frans – som også er skytshelgen for økologien og økologene (1979). På et annet informasjonsskilt sto følgende om Frans:
Francis was the first to call the elements of nature “brother” and “sister”, since he considered them to be part of a unified world created by God. According to this perspective, which was revolutionary for the time, mankind was an integral part of nature, and not its master.
